Confucius: One of History’s Greatest Preacher of Humanism

The human civilization as a whole is indebted to ancient China in many respects. You will probably lose your count if you attempt to make a list of contributions made by this age old civilization. In addition to the valuable inventions in the sector of natural science and medicine, the greatest gift of ancient China to the world was the rich philosophy propounded by wise Confucius, who lived during 551-479 BC, but still revered all over the world for his teachings that is relevant even in this new millennium.

Confucius was among those rare and few human beings who struggled to make the world a better place for living. His preaching was basically meant to give right direction to the ways people of ancient China lived, behaved and survived. This astute thinker not only enriched the Chinese philosophy, he also contributed to the theory of law, politics and rules of the governance that acquired a universal acceptance in the later course of history.

The golden rule of life that “A man should practice what he preaches, but a man should also preach what he practices” was coined by none other than this sage of great insight and knowledge about the nature. His political foresight is also something to learn from. It was Confucius who first talked of the value of good governance; that a well governed kingdom never loses any war and an oppressive government is even fiercer than a dreaded tiger.

Confucius’ teachings were far ahead of his time, and it was probably due to this fact that he was always denied his rightful participation in the administration. But the common people of china always adored the monumental wisdom of this otherwise simple and noble man and so even thousands of years after his demise, people acknowledge the worth of Confucianism.